Recap / Community S2 E03: The Psychology of Letting Go

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Pierce deals with the death of his mom. Jeff gets an unexpected result back from a medical test. Abed has a side adventure. And Britta and Annie try to raise funds and awareness about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but just find themselves in conflict over their respective approaches.

The Community episode "The Psychology of Letting Go" provides examples of:

Birth/Death Juxtaposition: As Pierce's mom narrates how life works, Abed can be seen helping a young couple give birth in the background. Considering his role in the show he probably sought the pregnant girl out. In the commentary, Donald Glover says this scene made him realize that Abed has casual sex (and Troy doesn't), because the girl is telling Abed that the baby might be his, so it might not be a case of his meta-sense seeking out an opportunity, and it might be a case of almost-fatherhood (but likely neither - see Brick Joke).

Broken Aesop: Jeff takes Duncan's psychology completely the wrong way. Instead of getting over his angst and quitting his attempt to destroy Pierce's faith he comes to the realization that that was his goal and really rolls his sleeves up.

Broken Bird: Jeff spends most of the episode angsting over his mortality. He's in near-perfect health. The "near" part is devastating to him.

"Hi, I like need you to save the pelicans? They're all feathery and pelicany? I wuv them."

Captain Obvious Aesop: Invoked during Annie and Britta's demonstration, when Britta is angrily yelling about how horrible the oil spill is. A nearby student mockingly points out that she doesn't actually need to yell at them, because "nobody is on the other side of this issue!"

Duncan points out that Jeff's recent desire to belittle and undermine Pierce's faith in his cult is linked to Jeff's discovery that he has high cholesterol. Jeff accepts this, but instead of the expected 'so lighten up about it and let Pierce continue regardless' message, Jeff instead decides that this increased self-awareness means he can really go to town on pulling the rug from under Pierce.

Non-romantic version; Shirley spends most of the episode poorly concealing her jealousy over the fact that she wasn't invited to join in Britta and Annie's project.

Equally, for all that she tries to frame her objections in superiority and lofty Straw Feminist terms, on some level at least Britta is also clearly just seething with jealousy about how Annie attracts the attention of guys more than her.

Hypocrite: During their argument, Annie points out that despite Britta's self-righteousness over Annie's efforts to get the attention of men, Britta's own actions clearly suggest that she values getting the attention of men just as much.

Duncan: Well, I think you're being a little childish— hold on a sec, I need to use my force field to prevent Chang from getting food.

Shirley sardonically highlights a certain hypocrisy in Annie and Britta's jealous sniping match with each other:

Shirley: Yeah, you're both soooo different. Skinny bitches.

It's All About Me: Jeff ends his speech urging the study group to be tolerant of Pierce's religion by encouraging them to "be cool like me". Troy notes that Jeff tends to end a lot of his speeches by pointing out how cool he is.

Law of Disproportionate Response: Jeff is told he is near-perfect health except for slightly high cholesterol. He reacts as if he's been told he's going to die later that afternoon.

Leave Me Alone!: Played for laughs when Jeff is devastated by the news of his slightly high cholesterol levels and demands to be left alone... in the foyer of a public health clinic:

Jeff: I need to be alone. Nurse Jackie:[Nonplussed] Uh... you can do that by leaving.

Meaningful Background Event: The background events tell the story of Abed helping a pregnant woman, getting in an argument with the father, and eventually delivering the baby. At the end, the group asks Abed where he's been. You can see it here. It's quite impressive when you go back and watch it. Shirley even comments on it after noticing that Abed has barely appeared in the episode (and the couple are in the background when she does).

Mood Whiplash: The first track on Pierce's mother's CD is a recording of her pleading with him to understand the finality of death. The second track is hardcore gangsta rap.

Out of Focus: Literally; the episode features a subplot of Abed befriending a pregnant classmate that takes place entirely in the background.

Pass the Popcorn: Shirley happily munches on crisps while Annie and Britta get into it.

At one point Pierce is explaining the tenets of his religion (cult), mentioning that humans have a vapour form. Abed asks if there is a liquid form, to which Pierce replies that when Buddha comes all humans would turn into a liquid and combine into a single, superintelligent lifeform that resembles an ocean of fruit punch, referencing Neon Genesis Evangelion's superintelligence.

Jeff: I treat my body like a temple! Male Nurse Jackie: Well, I can't be the first person to tell you that the temple doesn't last forever; I mean, it's made of hamburger! This is a temple of doom! And like the real Tempe of Doom, it represents the inconvenient fact that all good things, be they people or movie franchises, eventually collapse into sagging, sloppy piles of hard-to-follow nonsense.

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